About Hans Tammemagi

Entries by Hans Tammemagi

Kayaking in the Gulf Islands archipelago with the wind and tide at your back is like being in heaven. I love to view the gentle Salish Sea from wave level, feel the warm sun on my back and savour the silent solitude. It’s a spiritual experience. I often paddle from Pender to Saturna Island with […]

One day in April, I peered from a cliff down into an eagle’s nest balanced near the top of a Douglas fir tree. A bald eagle mother with a two-metre wing span and lethal talons and beak was ever so gently placing food into the tiny beak of her three-day-old chick. A touching scene. We’re […]

I lace up my hiking boots, but where to go? Should I ramble in the still, sombre forest surrounded by moss, ferns and giant trees? Or should I walk along rocky beaches communing with sea stars and barnacle encrusted rocks? Or should I climb to a viewpoint and gaze upon a panorama of islands sprinkled […]

The five southern Gulf Islands are blessed not only with great natural beauty, but also with creative, lively Farmers Markets. I set out to explore them. On Salt Spring Island, in Ganges at Centennial Park, I jostled in smiling throngs as I roamed among more than 150 booths. It was clear why Salt Spring Farmers […]

Hidden away in the forest deep in the Magic Lake area is one of the finest — and least known — treasures of Pender Island: a disc golf course. On a recent weekend the forest resounded to thumps, clangs and happy shouts as I arrived to play. With its hilly contours and stately Douglas firs, western […]

I suffer from incurable islomania. I confess: I’m crazy about islands. They attract me and hold an immense power over me. They are addictive. I am in their thrall. Off the southwest coast of British Columbia is an archipelago, a gaggle of glorious islands, that draws me like a super-magnet. Although they are near major […]